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Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2026

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I made a flax seed and aloe vera leaf (freshly blended and unstrained.) I heated it up in a pot and applied it to my hair.

The impetus for heating it up was from a video I was watching on making lotion. The person heated up water mixed with aloe vera gel.

The result is a nondescript gloop. But it was wonderful on my hair!


It's Thick and Viscous - Best Deep Moisturizer's Thick and Viscous - Best Deep Moisturizer

Look at the rheology of this stuff!

It deeply moisturized my hair and elongated my hair.

Back View in the Sun

I was pleasantly surprised. I don't think that I have EVER
combined flaxseed gel and aloe vera mixed together.

Flax seed is a colloidal and has mucilage and is a polysaccharide.
Aloe vera is a mucopolysaccharide.It contains negatively charged polysaccharides.

My hair LOVES this !
This looks good. Both the mixture and the hair!
 
Thank you. Doing my hair gives me great pleasure and joy. I am rearranging my ingredients and processes and coming up with new combinations for myself, with old familiar ingredients!

Thank you! I can SEE the difference with my ends. It really is the little changes that can create huge shifts.

That warm gel mixed with aloe Vera heated together in a pot was glorious. I love all my products super warm when I apply them. What a feeling!

I had planned to heat straighten my hair. But my loved one whom I caretaker had a medical emergency. The person is stable, but I’ve chosen to do 11 to 22 hour shifts with them while they are in the hospital. Thus, my hair has to wait.
You are doing a good thing @Chicoro. Continue extending grace to yourself.
 
This is such a good post. Chalked with gems and goodies. FIRST OF ALL YOUR HAIR LOOKS LUSH, FABULOUS, THICK AND HEALTHY! I can almost feel how luscious and soft it is through the screen. What you are doing is surely working!
Thank you ❤️ I honestly couldn't believe how soft it felt, it has been such a long time, I definitely feel confident about my regimen, most of the tweaks I'm making along the way have been things I've done previously but not really taken notice of, along with some great suggestions from @Chicoro which has helped me to improve my moisture game without having to moisturise my whole head in small sections.
Next, I am glad you are loving the Wavvy Talk Air Sculpt. Good Deal + Good Performance = Win! A totally justified purchase and worthy contribution to the hair arsenal.
I'm really enjoying it. I definitely feel it would yeild better results if someone else was using it on me. It's light but quite bulky, and it can get hot too, this can make it a bit awkward for me to hold. I'm looking forward to using the round and oval brushes :grin:
Y'all (collectively the board) have me reconsidering Amika. They used to make this thick olive conditioner back in 2009 that I absolutely loved, but since that was discontinued, there hasn't been anything that I loved as much from them. I tried their "Kure" and "Soulfood" conditioners, which were cool, but not the great conditioner that I loved from them a decade ago. I haven't tried any of their stylers but I am open to it.
Since last year March I've been eyeing up their products, it was their moisture range that first caught my eye. I was in need of heat protectants and anti humidity products and their products kept popping up, after reading some reviews and watching a few others, I dived in. I can honestly say I'm not disappointed.
I am glad you didn't cut it off too much right away. Hair can play tricks on you when it grows out unevenly, if it is shedding, if it has a growth spurt, or if you are testing new products, or if it has different lengths. You'd be surprised by how just holding your peace in one session will make a perceived issue undetectable in the next session.

I agree with this in principle, but in practice I just want the dead ends gone. In this case, my ends were literally see-through and getting tangent together so I knew something had to go. I took off the minimum I felt I could get away with, and it did the job.

I've been working diligently on my ends the last couple of months, I've seen some gains and improved their overall condition, this is another reason I wanted to take off as little as possible. I want to continue working on my ends.

I feel like when I braid my hair in one braid, it is uneven when I get to the ends, when I braid in 4 sections, they now look much more even lol.

As long as you stay on top of your moisture and protein, and get rid of splits while allowing the bulk or hemline to become more pleasing, it will fill in. Uneven hair is not always unhealthy. And you do have room to gradually even up your hemline and fill it in just as long as you snip the split ends off efficiently.
I intend to let it just do it's thing for now, and like you said, I'm planning on evening up my hemline over a period of time. I'm not in any rush.

My moisture protein balance is currently excellent, I'm so pleased with the moisture retention, my hair is soft but strong and still has it's elasticity when straight, this os perfection for me.
It's a 10 is a winner...All their stuff. I just love their leave-ins, serums, and moisturizers.
So far I've only tried the silk leave in, I loved it. At some point later, I'll be trying the serum out, I expect I'll love that too.
Anyhoo your hair is fabulous and I can't wait to see you meet your goals.
Thank you so much, I appreciate you saying that ❤️
 
Have you noticed your split end stop while using the split ender? The reason I ask is becuse it's design reminds me of a lint shaver (for closthes) and I sometimes wonder if the blades scrape the healthy parts of the strans making them susceptable to more splits by scraping the cuticle. Do you every reach a baseline of no splits while using it?
I side eye that Splitender for this very reason.

But I’ve not seen info that states it NOT is damaging to the cuticles.

And yes, I know you were not talking to me. But when has that ever stopped me, right?!

While I’m already up on your business, let ask about brushes. Do those brushes for Afro textured hair cause mechanical damage? I would think not. Because I see women with super-long, gorgeous 4B Afro hair-textured that is 10+ years old.
 
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Have you noticed your split end stop while using the split ender?
This has not happened during the times I've used it, you are the one who controls the motor by pressing the lever down.
The reason I ask is becuse it's design reminds me of a lint shaver (for clothes) and I sometimes wonder if the blades scrape the healthy parts of the strans making them susceptable to more splits by scraping the cuticle.
I wouldn't liken it to a lint shaver, it's more like straighteners with a motor and blades. I'e container holds all the cut pieces. I've never noticed this, the first coulke of times I used it, I went through my hair to check for any damage, I didn't see any.

This time round I had a lot of splits, they wasn't obvious to the eye but I'd seen them in shed hair and while looking at my ends. The amount of hair collected was the most I've ever seen, I wouldn't normally allow my ends to get or stay so bad.
Do you every reach a baseline of no splits while using it?
If my hair is completely straight, I would say yes. last week I used the splitender on blow dried hair, I don't think I've got all of the splits, but there's not many left.

The reason I used it on blow dried hair was mainly because I wasn't sure how the products I used would react with each other, and I wasn't sure what adding another product would do to my hair.

The Splitender is intended to be used on clean, straight, product free hair. To get my hair straight, I need to use products. The Amika products and the It's a 10 Silk where super lightweight, they didn't feel like I had any products in my hair.

Now I know this, I'd happily use the Splitender on my straightened hair with those products in my hair. I'm not in a rush to use the Splitender anytime soon, I probably won't use it again before I'm ready to dust/trim.
 
I side eye that Splitender for this very reason.

But I’ve not seen info that states it is damaging to the cuticles.

And yes, I know you were not talking to me. But when has that ever stopped me, right?!

While I’m already up on your business, let ask about brushes. Do those brushes for Afro textured hair cause mechanical damage? I would think not. Because I see women with super-long, gorgeous 4B Afro hair-textured that is 10+ years old.
Yeah that was may main point of pause when I saw it gaining popularity. So it isn't for me since my search and destroy does the trick, but I am genuinely curious if someone is able to get ao a point of 0 splits while using the split ender.

As far as detangle brushes... I love the seamless and snag-free ones. They don't scrape strands. They smooth out tanlges. Love, love love them. Felicia Leatherwood started it, but Kazmalajee, Olivia Garden CurlyHair Brushes and other brands have been adjusting the blueprint. For years I only used my Hairsense combs for detangling that didn't eat up my strands but these new brushes are different....many of them are seamless or have coated/filed seams to prevent snagging. I love them.
 
Yeah that was may main point of pause when I saw it gaining popularity. So it isn't for me since my search and destroy does the trick, but I am genuinely curious if someone is able to get ao a point of 0 splits while using the split ender.

As far as detangle brushes... I love the seamless and snag-free ones. They don't scrape strands. They smooth out tanlges. Love, love love them. Felicia Leatherwood started it, but Kazmalajee, Olivia Garden CurlyHair Brushes and other brands have been adjusting the blueprint. For years I only used my Hairsense combs for detangling that didn't eat up my strands but these new brushes are different....many of them are seamless or have coated/filed seams to prevent snagging. I love them.
I’m so glad you could read and understand my post riddled with errors.

Big typo correction :

I have NOT seen anything that states the splitender causes damage.

Excuse my typos. That’s what I get for posting super early in the morning.
 
My update this week.....

Earlier I posted about what my hair was like when I took down my braid on straightened hair:

20260503_114720.jpg

I detangled, sectioned and braided, this was the hair from the first detangling session. It has definitely been at least a decade since I had such a small hairball.

20260503_121954.jpg

Today I decided to use a clarifying shampoo for a first wash because I was trying out the Amika Frizz Be Gone shampoo and conditioner.

I really liked the shampoo, it was creamy in texture and left my hair feeling nice and soft, I kept tbe conditioner in for about an hour in total, 15 minutes of which was under the steamer.

Straight away I could see the difference to my ends since last week. I've done a comparison to this week with a pic taken I think sometime towards the end of March to demonstrate what I'm talking about. My ends look smoother, the curls at the end have definition in this weeks pic.

Collage_2026-05-03_18_49_49.jpg

Just to test the amount of shed hair this week, I went in with my Denman for the wet detangling, pretty much the same thing.

20260503_160240.jpg

Although these hairballs might look very similar to previous weeks, they are not, They're about half the size, I'm just not able to rub them as small as they can get.

Something strange seemed to have happened this week. My shrinkage has increased. My wet hair usually hangs at APL at the front and about an inch past my shoulders at the back....... My hair is not dry in these pics.

20260503_153607.jpg

20260503_154042.jpg

I know I don't have moisture overload, I don't know what has caused this but I'm betting it's got something to do with the FrizzBe Gone Conditioner.

There were nit as many hairs on the floor and I used the dryer for longer, there was not much more this week than last in the paddle brush.

Overall I'm very happy with the current condition of my hair, I know I need to continue to working on my ends, but there's been a huge shift in the right direction so it's not a major concern.

I'm hoing to straighten tomorrow, I'm planning on going in with a dryer with a comb attachment so thst I can get to my roots better, this is the straightening session before THE straightening session. I want to get into my roots properly because that's obviously the danger area when it comes to reverting.
 

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Yeah that was may main point of pause when I saw it gaining popularity. So it isn't for me since my search and destroy does the trick, but I am genuinely curious if someone is able to get ao a point of 0 splits while using the split ender.
Mine too, but I couldn't find any damage after I first used it, all the other times I used it my hair was in better condition so it only took off tiny bits, there was hardly anything the first time but I saw and felt the benefits straight away.

I think I've used the splitender 5 times in total now, before I set it back up, I emptied the container, I'm pretty sure there was 2 or 3 uses in it at the time, I actually took a picture.

Collage_2026-05-03_19_18_51.jpg

The left side was taken last week, the right side are the contents of the chamber after 2-3 uses.
 
...To have a hair product concoting, advising and freely giving neighbor sounds like a dream come true. Lucky neighbor!
It feels like, The Women of Beale Street type neighborhood, that I always wished I had, but never knew I wanted!

They share ‘overflow food’, candy, advice, experiences and they let you know they see you, and are watching over you, and are rooting for you.
 
I straightened my hair today, it appeared straighter than last week initially but now I don't know.

I feel like I'm missing something, but can't put my finger on it. Off the top of my head, I'd say a creamy moisturiser might help, but I shouldn't really need one.

Anyway, this is how it turned out, I'm thinking of a backup plan for my hair for this ball just in case.

20260504_131957.jpg

Screenshot_20260504_133418_Gallery.png

20260504_133742.jpg
 
@Angel of the North

Your hair is definitely straighter from root to tip and laying flatter and hanging heavier. And it still looks very thick and full.

The average stylist might go in and trim your hair even, cutting off several sections of length.

Now, I, Ms. Chicoro, would do the Opposite. I would identify your longest lengths. I would designate those longer lengths as your ´goal point length’.

Two assumptions:
1. Uneven lengths do NOT automatically mean or equate to unhealthy ends.

2. Unhealthy ends are split ends, knotted ends and/or weathered, dry, discolored greyish ends.

None of this is present as in rampant, within your lovely head of hair.

Thus, I would then ´HOLD’ your hair at the current length. I would do this by doing tiny trims until all the hair, the bulk of the hair all reached the longer length, over time.

Once the bulk of the hair arrived at the newer longer length and was given the time, opportunity and courtesy to fill in, I’d do a little micro trim to even out the hemline.

This hemline would now be the same length as those longer lengths we saw initially: filled in, fuller, thicker. The entire bulk of the hair has Descended in length from growth. The hair has not ascended in length due to being cut back - to show perfectly even ends- minus hard won length.

This dramatic tale of hair cutting has been brought to you by experience. Often of which this experience was fraught with setbacks, disappointments and unnecessary trauma to my hair and self esteem. But which ultimately brought me to the place of confidently and successfully employing this goal point method for me and my hair.

Then, I would repeat the process. My trim process focuses on preserving the length that drops from the bulk, the lead hairs. And waiting for the bulk to catch up, and then trimming down, not trimming back up.

Trimming hair perfectly even frequently sometimes keeps the hair at the same length. It absolutely may look perfectly even and magazine ready, but it keeps the hair at today’s length, and may hinder attaining tomorrow’s longer lengths.

Great job on your hair. Thank you for letting us hitch a ride on your hair straightening adventure! I’m looking forward to the straightened hair [photos] on the day of the event.

And, I am looking forward to the debriefing and analysis after the event.

*Rubs hands together in anticipation.*
 
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@Angel of the North

Your hair is definitely straighter from root to tip and laying flatter and hanging heavier. And it still looks very thick and full.

The average stylist might go in and trim your hair even, cutting off several sections of length.

Now, I, Ms. Chicoro, would do the Opposite. I would identify your longest lengths. I would designate those longer lengths as your ´goal point length’.

Two assumptions:
1. Uneven lengths do NOT automatically mean or equate to unhealthy ends.

2. Unhealthy ends are split ends, knotted ends and/or weathered, dry, discolored greyish ends.

None of this is present as in rampant, within your lovely head of hair.

Thus, I would then ´HOLD’ your hair at the current length. I would do this by doing tiny trims until all the hair, the bulk of the hair all reached the longer length, over time.

Once the bulk of the hair arrived at the newer longer length and was given the time, opportunity and courtesy to fill in, I’d do a little micro trim to even out the hemline.

This hemline would now be the same length as those longer lengths we saw initially: filled in, fuller, thicker. The entire bulk of the hair has Descended in length from growth. The hair has not ascended in length due to being cut back - to show perfectly even ends- minus hard won length.

This dramatic tale of hair cutting has been brought to you by experience. Often of which this experience was fraught with setbacks, disappointments and unnecessary trauma to my hair and self esteem. But which ultimately brought me to the place of confidently and successfully employing this goal point method for me and my hair.

Then, I would repeat the process. My trim process focuses on preserving the length that drops from the bulk, the lead hairs. And waiting for the bulk to catch up, and then trimming down, not trimming back up.

Trimming hair perfectly even frequently sometimes keeps the hair at the same length. It absolutely may look perfectly even and magazine ready, but it keeps the hair at today’s length, and may hinder attaining tomorrow’s longer lengths.

Great job on your hair. Thank you for letting us hitch a ride on your hair straightening adventure! I’m looking forward to the straightened hair [photos] on the day of the event.

And, I am looking forward to the debriefing and analysis after the event.

*Rubs hands together in anticipation.*

This advice of yours has helped me over the years. I don't straightstraighten my hair so seeing my full length hasn't been a thing, but I've learned to make observations about my hair in its coily state. For example , I've notice that my hair alternates growth, right and left, each year. So one year at the beginning of the year the right side will be longer, then the rest catches up and then the left will take the lead.

If I hadn't heard of Miss @Chicoro's lead hair theory I would have been devastated by my hair and would have probably tried to even my hair out unnecessarily.
 
@Angel of the North

Your hair is definitely straighter from root to tip and laying flatter and hanging heavier. And it still looks very thick and full.
That's what I thought too initially, but then I felt it looked a bit static, and wouldn't lay as flat.
The average stylist might go in and trim your hair even, cutting off several sections of length.
I wouldn't agree to this.I don't think it's necessary at this stage.
Now, I, Ms. Chicoro, would do the Opposite. I would identify your longest lengths. I would designate those longer lengths as your ´goal point length’.

Two assumptions:
1. Uneven lengths do NOT automatically mean or equate to unhealthy ends.

2. Unhealthy ends are split ends, knotted ends and/or weathered, dry, discolored greyish ends.

None of this is present as in rampant, within your lovely head of hair.

Thus, I would then ´HOLD’ your hair at the current length. I would do this by doing tiny trims until all the hair, the bulk of the hair all reached the longer length, over time.
This is what I'm hoping for, I want to start working on my density too, but I will leave that for next year.

My ends are not in terrible condition, by next week I'll be back to nursing them diligently, at the very least I should be able to maintain them while I wait for the rest of my hair to catch up and fill in. We are definitely on the same page.
Once the bulk of the hair arrived at the newer longer length and was given the time, opportunity and courtesy to fill in, I’d do a little micro trim to even out the hemline.
I'm not planning to trim for at least 4 months now, even then I'm only trying to dust :lol:
This hemline would now be the same length as those longer lengths we saw initially: filled in, fuller, thicker. The entire bulk of the hair has Descended in length from growth. The hair has not ascended in length due to being cut back - to show perfectly even ends- minus hard won length.
❤️
This dramatic tale of hair cutting has been brought to you by experience. Often of which this experience was fraught with setbacks, disappointments and unnecessary trauma to my hair and self esteem. But which ultimately brought me to the place of confidently and successfully employing this goal point method for me and my hair.
The journey is so important, it's also very emotional too, the good thing is that you have accumulated all this knowledge because of it :yep: ❤️
Then, I would repeat the process. My trim process focuses on preserving the length that drops from the bulk, the lead hairs. And waiting for the bulk to catch up, and then trimming down, not trimming back up.
It looks like this might be the way forward. :grin:
Trimming hair perfectly even frequently sometimes keeps the hair at the same length. It absolutely may look perfectly even and magazine ready, but it keeps the hair at today’s length, and may hinder attaining tomorrow’s longer lengths.
This was what I thought I was doing before, I thought I was happily maintaining MBL, then I found myself at WL. I took off a couple of inches and everything was perfect, then I had the braids and you know the rest.

I am looking forward to seeing what happens if I change my trimming strategy.
Great job on your hair. Thank you for letting us hitch a ride on your hair straightening adventure! I’m looking forward to the straightened hair [photos] on the day of the event.
Thank you, I've had some great advice and suggestions along the way. It's also helped me to document it all.
And, I am looking forward to the debriefing and analysis after the event.

*Rubs hands together in anticipation.*
I am expecting something not too dissimilar from yesterday. At this point, I'm wondering weather to use the round brush on the WavyTalk, I don't know, I'll have to see how it goes.
 
So I think I have found a style that will work for me and get me through the next few months.

One of my biggest challenges has been the short length of the back. The back of my hair is the finest, curliest and the most susceptible to breakage. It has always been my nemesis even when I was relaxed.

When I wear my hair in 2 strands the hair in the back is so fine that it has no weight. Then I sleep on it and I sweat in the back, so the twist back there either separate, or tangle together. And they are too short to pull up into anything.

When I wear my hair in flat twists, to make it look somewhat wearable, I've tried to pull the front twist to the back and then twist them all together and pin them under. I think this is causing breakage in the center of my hair. The left right side of my hair is already noticeably shorter than the left side due to the breakage I experienced when I first starting going back into the office.

But yesterday, I put my hair in 3 flat twist on each side, but I started with the back, so the front twists adapt to its position versus the other way around. I then twisted the two front ones together and pinned them in the center of the back twist. And I pinned the end of the back one underneath. I'm not in love with it but it is wearable if it gets me to the next stage.

Until my back grows out I am limited in my styles. With this style it is faster to install and I think I may be able to cleanse more often.

I'm hoping by the end of the year my twist have more weight and hang time and give me more options. My fingers are crossed that this solves a lot of my issues.
 
So I think I have found a style that will work for me and get me through the next few months.

One of my biggest challenges has been the short length of the back. The back of my hair is the finest, curliest and the most susceptible to breakage. It has always been my nemesis even when I was relaxed.

When I wear my hair in 2 strands the hair in the back is so fine that it has no weight. Then I sleep on it and I sweat in the back, so the twist back there either separate, or tangle together. And they are too short to pull up into anything.

When I wear my hair in flat twists, to make it look somewhat wearable, I've tried to pull the front twist to the back and then twist them all together and pin them under. I think this is causing breakage in the center of my hair. The left right side of my hair is already noticeably shorter than the left side due to the breakage I experienced when I first starting going back into the office.

But yesterday, I put my hair in 3 flat twist on each side, but I started with the back, so the front twists adapt to its position versus the other way around. I then twisted the two front ones together and pinned them in the center of the back twist. And I pinned the end of the back one underneath. I'm not in love with it but it is wearable if it gets me to the next stage.

Until my back grows out I am limited in my styles. With this style it is faster to install and I think I may be able to cleanse more often.

I'm hoping by the end of the year my twist have more weight and hang time and give me more options. My fingers are crossed that this solves a lot of my issues.
I know it'll probably take a little time to confirm how well this works out long term, but I really hope this style doesn't cause any breakage issues and gets you to the next stage of your growth journey.
 
I've been eyeing this weightless line by Cantu for sometime now since it came out. Today I purchased the leave in, which apparently has 15 benefits, one of which is a heat protectant. I'm hoping this can help.my achieve a little bit more smoothness to my hair the next time I straighten it.


20260505_175621.jpg

The products that caught my eye along with this one are the curl cream and the smooth and hold gel.

ETA:
I put a little in my hand, it truly is weightless, I rubbed it into the front of my hair, I like it a lot so far.
 
I've been eyeing this weightless line by Cantu for sometime now since it came out. Today I purchased the leave in, which apparently has 15 benefits, one of which is a heat protectant. I'm hoping this can help.my achieve a little bit more smoothness to my hair the next time I straighten it.


View attachment 508660

The products that caught my eye along with this one are the curl cream and the smooth and hold gel.

ETA:
I put a little in my hand, it truly is weightless, I rubbed it into the front of my hair, I like it a lot so far.
It is promising a whole lot in one bottle :lol: I hope you like it. I know you will come back and let us know how it works.
 
It is promising a whole lot in one bottle :lol: I hope you like it. I know you will come back and let us know how it works.
I thought the same, I'd be happy with just the combating frizz, smoothing and the heat protection :lol: If it does half of what it says it should, I'll be happy. I will most definitely let you all know how it stands up against it's claims.
 
@Angel of the North
When did you take that picture in your avatar that is of the back of your head?

Can you do side by side of that photo with one you took in your bathroom, for your second press/latest press?

I’d be interested to compare the two photos, because I’m nosy.
 
@Angel of the North
When did you take that picture in your avatar that is of the back of your head?
Yes that's definitely the back of my head :lol: I think that pic is from somewhere around 2012 -13.
Can you do side by side of that photo with one you took in your bathroom, for your second press/latest press?

Collage_2026-05-05_22_08_13.jpg
They were taken from different distances, I think my hair is a little past APL in the first pic.
I’d be interested to compare the two photos, because I’m nosy.
:lol:
 
Yes that's definitely the back of my head :lol: I think that pic is from somewhere around 2012 -13.


View attachment 508666
They were taken from different distances, I think my hair is a little past APL in the first pic.

:lol:
Thank you!

In the most recent pic, the one on the right, the hair is straighter. At the top it’s flatter.

On the outer sides, the hair is not as long as now.

The hair is hanging heavier and the width of your hair hemline is broader. The quality of the hair, the strands, seem different, too.

The hair on the left has a perfectly straight hemline, perfectly even ends.

Nice contrast. The hair you currently have is completely new in comparison to the hair in your avatar.
 
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